In about a month I'm going to participate in my first Shadowrun game.
I've made a character (technically, my third character) and it's a technomancer.
However, my guy is paraplegic and stuck in a motorized wheel chair. Since he's a technomancer, that shouldn't really matter, but there may be situations where he will need better mobility. I don't want to ever get implants, as that will destroy his resonance, so I'm looking for a better option.
I think exoskeletal legs, sorta like power-armor without the armor, would be ideal, but I haven't found anything like that in the core rule book (4th edition or the new anniversary edition), nor in the augmentation book.
If push comes to shove, I might be able to convince the GM to allow me/us to come up with something on our own, but this will be the second game he's ever GM'd, so I don't want to overload him with stuff that to me is child's play. He's a smart dude, but I have 15+ years of experience on him.
Anyway, does anyone know of any Shadowrun resources that have exoskeletons or something similar? Or, if failing that, any ideas about how they would work game-mechanics-wise? I'm not looking for anything badass, just enough to get my character to be able to walk - preferably able to wear pants over any kind of frame to cover up the fact.
Something like this woman's (http://www.livescience.com/20269-paralyzed-mom-marathon-bionic.html) artificial legs?
Doesn't seem unreasonable, especially in SR4. As a technomancer, you'd be able to get decent control out of them without implants, and as it's the future, they could be less bulky - they're a lot better with cybernetics than we are.
I'd probably price it at half a cyberleg, and require a medium difficulty / low drain technomancy thing to use them for a day's walking. Crap stealth, though.
(Sorry, I'm not an expert on technomancer rules, can look in my books tonight though)
Yep, that is exactly what I was thinking. Just like that, but with a lot less bulk.
Half the cost of a cyberlimb sounds decent.
Thanks!
Without any campaign details I really can't give an informed opinion.
My initial thoughts would be;
Why have the character as a paraplegic then give him a work around that ignores a game mechanic?
If this is your first true game of Shadowrun, going Technomancer isn't the wisest course of action.
If the GM is new to GMing the character concept isn't conducive to ease of play.
1) Your best bet in this case is to run a Drone, there are a couple of drones in various books you could kit out. One in Arsenal, and one in the newer "gear" book, that I think would be suitable.
2) Did you take the paraplegic flaw? If you did, I as a GM would screw over any adaption you have to let you overcome that flaw. and do intentionally and regularly, because its a FLAW. If you can get over it TOO easily, its not a flaw and shouldn't give you points. Which is an alternative way to build your character--no flaw, just a description and a powered set of legs, that cover your own.
Quote from: Silverlion;5906361) Your best bet in this case is to run a Drone, there are a couple of drones in various books you could kit out. One in Arsenal, and one in the newer "gear" book, that I think would be suitable.
Drones are boring, and they're not the same as being there yourself. Good luck getting anyone to tell you something even vaguely secret over a drone connection.
Quote2) Did you take the paraplegic flaw? If you did, I as a GM would screw over any adaption you have to let you overcome that flaw. and do intentionally and regularly, because its a FLAW. If you can get over it TOO easily, its not a flaw and shouldn't give you points. Which is an alternative way to build your character--no flaw, just a description and a powered set of legs, that cover your own.
You've got some artificial legs, that you control using TECHNOMAGIC. That's okay, but it's still not as good as a real pair of legs - you'll be slower and less capable of stealth, and that will get you killed. That's still a flaw, just less of one. Not a facetious question: would you consider the wheelchair a way of getting around the paraplegic flaw, and punish accordingly?
And has anyone else seen
Wallace and Gromit : The Wrong Trousers? I mean, seriously, GM's should be begging players to take stuff like that. Shadowrunners make a lot of enemies, and there is always - always - someone better than you are... artificial legs mean that you're giving your opponents control of your own body, and they will exploit that.
Any Shadowrun GM that can't do something with that shouldn't be running it.
Quote from: Ladybird;590644Drones are boring, and they're not the same as being there yourself. Good luck getting anyone to tell you something even vaguely secret over a drone connection.
Actually there are drones that are basically articulated to carry a person, that is what I was considering. Drones such as Steed or Orderly (Arsenal). Even more interestingly you could convert a vehicle such as the Horseman, or the Sparrow into drone control (Arsenal, again.) Give them manipulative arms and wham. Better than a wheelchair.
Just takes a little imagination.
QuoteYou've got some artificial legs, that you control using TECHNOMAGIC. That's okay, but it's still not as good as a real pair of legs - you'll be slower and less capable of stealth, and that will get you killed. That's still a flaw, just less of one. Not a facetious question: would you consider the wheelchair a way of getting around the paraplegic flaw, and punish accordingly?
Yep. I would. I'd simply apply the problems a real world wheelchair (advanced 50 odd years) would give them. Can't move very fast, doesn't let you be sneaky, doesn't give you as fine control, can't climb readily. Plus is hackable (unless you go oldschool.) As most wheelchairs are probably assigned to Sinners, and have med readouts in the Corporate Nanny style way. (Of course False Sin numbers, theft and hacking the chair yourself all work.) And never mind the increased security checks you'll go through.
There will always be problems, or it wouldn't be a disadvantage.
Quote from: Silverlion;590662Can't move very fast, doesn't let you be sneaky, doesn't give you as fine control, can't climb readily. Plus is hackable (unless you go oldschool.)
So then, what exactly is your opposition to a shitty pair of exoskeletal legs?
Cause what you just described in a wheelchair (which I'm not opposed to) is exactly what I want in a pair of legs.
Quote from: Silverlion;590662Yep. I would. I'd simply apply the problems a real world wheelchair (advanced 50 odd years) would give them. Can't move very fast, doesn't let you be sneaky, doesn't give you as fine control, can't climb readily. Plus is hackable (unless you go oldschool.) As most wheelchairs are probably assigned to Sinners, and have med readouts in the Corporate Nanny style way. (Of course False Sin numbers, theft and hacking the chair yourself all work.) And never mind the increased security checks you'll go through.
I wouldn't describe that as "punishment", just... the natural disadvantages of being in a wheelchair.
Sure, it's not "cannot use their legs", but those are all pretty big problems to deal with - we're hardly talking "disadvantages that actually aren't".
Quote from: everloss;590700So then, what exactly is your opposition to a shitty pair of exoskeletal legs?
Cause what you just described in a wheelchair (which I'm not opposed to) is exactly what I want in a pair of legs.
Which is exactly why you have been questioned about using this flaw.
From reading the negative quality;
....The Paraplegic quality cannot be treated with cyberware, though certain gene therapies and nanotechnologies may repair the damage (requiring the character to buy off the quality with Karma per standard rules during recovery)....Seems pretty explicit to me on what the means and how to get rid of it.
Quote from: everloss;590700So then, what exactly is your opposition to a shitty pair of exoskeletal legs?
Cause what you just described in a wheelchair (which I'm not opposed to) is exactly what I want in a pair of legs.
Nothing at all. I'd make sure the flaw you took was a flaw, that's all. (Although sometimes an advantage, after all hobbling along or rolling a wheel chair might make people feel sorrow for you and act less abrasive and treat you as less a threat.)
Just use the exoskeletal legs Weyland had in Prometheus. Can even have it built into a wheelchair/combo unit so you can get some speed if you need to go to wheels.
When on the legs, your movement and combat would be calculated like you had 1s or 2s in Quickness (err 4e breaks those down into Agility and Reaction I think, so 1's or 2's in Agility maybe).
Done.
Quote from: Sommerjon;590771Which is exactly why you have been questioned about using this flaw.
From reading the negative quality;
....The Paraplegic quality cannot be treated with cyberware, though certain gene therapies and nanotechnologies may repair the damage (requiring the character to buy off the quality with Karma per standard rules during recovery)....
Seems pretty explicit to me on what the means and how to get rid of it.
that is explicit, and I never mentioned using cyberware at all. External leg braces with motors on the joints are pretty far from cyberware. It's about the same as a motorized wheelchair, and probably not as fast or nimble.
Ah the "wonders" of point-buy in action...
RPGPundit
Quote from: RPGPundit;591117Ah the "wonders" of point-buy in action...
RPGPundit
I agree. The points-based character gen is holding back a very neat character concept; it's simply insane that the inability to use your legs is worth $50,000, or one attribute point, or one point in a skill group.
By the SR4 system, other disadvantages (http://nighthawks.org.uk/shadowrun/SR4_Qualities) that are considered equal in severity to being paraplegic are:
* A moderate addiction (Being a smoker, for example)
* A common, mild allergy (A light case of hayfever)
* Having a low pain tolerance (Like being unable to handle having injections)
* Temporal lobe epilepsy
* Sociopathy
* Being unable to speak the local language
Also, this has been discussed elsewhere (http://forums.dumpshock.com/lofiversion/index.php/t22657.html), although they're in wheelchair-mode still. We've made huge advantages in our timeline since then.
actually, I'm pretty sure the description of addiction states that nicotene doesn't count for the negative quality.
My biggest gripe with point buy systems is that it takes FOREVER to make a character. I used a build program I found online, but it still took more hours than I'd like to think about.
Plus, it seems strange to me to go through all that trouble, just to have the dude most likely die. That's a lot of wasted investment, as far as I'm concerned.
But I'll play any game at least once.
Quote from: Ladybird;591126Also, this has been discussed elsewhere (http://forums.dumpshock.com/lofiversion/index.php/t22657.html), although they're in wheelchair-mode still. We've made huge advantages in our timeline since then.
That link shows EXACTLY why I want some mobility. I was like, "this dude doesn't need to go anywhere! He can veg and hack from home!"
and then I realized that not every system is wireless.